See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/332120097

Significantly Improved Mechanical Properties of 1100 Aluminium Alloy via

Particle Reinforcement

Conference Paper · December 2018

CITATIONS READS

2 869

2 authors:

Adedotun Adetunla Esther Akinlabi

University of Johannesburg Pan African University for Life and Earth Sciences Institute
37 PUBLICATIONS   100 CITATIONS    792 PUBLICATIONS   6,465 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Multi-Pass Friction Stir Processing of various alloys with Titanium powder as reinforcement View project

Cloud Manufacturing View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Adedotun Adetunla on 01 April 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 5th International Conference on
Innovation in Science and Technology
Barcelona – Spain
7 - 9 December, 2018
ISTCONF

Significantly Improved Mechanical Properties of 1100 Aluminium Alloy

via Particle Reinforcement

A.O Adetunla and E.T Akinlabi

Department of Mechanical Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006,

South Africa
.
Abstract. In this study, metal matrix composite is fabricated on 1100 Aluminium alloy by multi pass
friction stir processing using different reinforcement particles namely Fly Ash, Palm Kernel Shell Ash, Ti62222
and 304 Stainless steel. Metal matrix composites with average grain size of 6.5 μm are achieved. The addition
of reinforcements at the stir zone has enhanced the mechanical properties of the 1100 Al alloy, finer grain
structure is also evident after three cumulative passes. Higher strength ranging from 268 to 454 MPa is
achieved. Microhadrness of the developed metal matrix composites reinforced with various particles exhibits
an improved average microhardness values that ranges from 75 to 95 HV. 304 stainless steel serves as the best
reinforcement to be used, offering higher hardness values and good tensile strength of 454.18MPa. The sets of
new alloys fabricated in this study can be considered for typical surface engineering applications

Keywords: fly ash; multi pass FSP; PKSA; surface metal matrix composites; Ti-62222; 304 Stainless Steel

1 Introduction

Due to good corrosion resistance and high strength of aluminum alloys, they are majorly used in
industries such as automobile, marine and aerospace. Aluminum(Al) and its alloys have excellent
formability and are easily weldable, it is well established that aluminum and its alloys exhibit high
ductility, strength to weight ratio, electrical and thermal conductivity(Asif, Chandra, and Misra
2011).Consequently, wide range of industries utilizes aluminum and its alloys as the major materials
for construction. Although, Al and its alloys have good strength and also exhibit a high strength to
weight ratio, however, they have low corrosion resistance (Sivakumar et al. 2014). Research has
shown that Al and its alloys can have better mechanical properties and high hardness by reinforcing
them with ceramic particles. However, these fabricated composites undergo loss in toughness and
ductility as a result of the combination of non-deformable ceramic particles (R. S. Mishra, Ma, and
Charit 2003). For various applications, it is appropriate that only the surface layer of metals is
reinforced by ceramic particles to improve the mechanical properties while the majority of the metals
maintain the original structure with a greater toughness(Adetunla and Akinlabi 2018; Ikumapayi,
Akinlabi, and Majumdar 2018). A lot of methods have been established and used to prepare Al matrix
aggregates such as stir casting, squeeze casting, and friction stir processing. Friction Stir Processing
(FSP) purposes great advantages in fabricating surface composites when compared to other methods
(Rana, Badheka, and Kumar 2016).
Friction Stir Processing (FSP), which has same working principle as Friction Stir Welding(FSW)
is one of the methods used to create MMCs. Limitations such as porosity, microstructural defects and
particle agglomeration can be solved with FSP(Khodabakhshi et al. 2015). During FSP, plastic

79
 5th International Conference on
Innovation in Science and Technology
Barcelona – Spain
7 - 9 December, 2018
ISTCONF

deformation of metal is caused by the rotating tool inserted the work piece, heat is generated by the
tool shoulder which is in contact with the surface of the metal thus deforming the work piece.
Reinforcements such as SiC(Luo et al. 2018), Al2O3(Ahmadkhaniha et al. 2016), SiO2(Khayyamin,
Mostafapour, and Keshmiri 2013) have been added into Aluminum alloy to improve its mechanical
properties and resistance to corrosion by some studies.
In this study, multi pass FSP is employed on 1100 Al alloy to study the effect of reinforcements on
its hardness, tensile strength and corrosion performance. The reinforcements used are Palm Kernel
Shell ash, 304 Stainless steel, fly ash and Ti-62222 powder. The aim of this study is to attain
improved mechanical properties of 1100 Al by comparing the effect of various reinforcements on it,
reinforcement particles offering the highest hardness, finest grain size, highest tensile strength and
good corrosion resistance will be investigated. The reinforcement used in this study has been
investigated by some studies to reveal their peculiar characterization(Abegunde, Akinlabi, and
Madyira 2017; Ikumapayi, Akinlabi, and Majumdar 2018; Panwar and Chauhan 2018). No published
literature compared the effect of the various reinforcements used in this study as far as the authors
know. The results obtained are discussed extensively.

2 Experimental Methodology

5mm sheet thickness of economically accessible 1100 Al alloy were used for the experiment, with
its Chemical and mechanical properties presented in Table I. Four different reinforcements are used,
namely Fly ash, 304 Stainless steel, Palm Kernel Shell Ash (PKSA) and Ti-62222 powder. Table II
shows their chemical compositions and their average particle size of the powder were found to be
59.75 μm for PKSA, 69.26 μm for Fly ash, 57.14 μm for 304 stainless steel and 65.23 μm for Ti-
62222 powder. 20% of the strengthening particles were deposited into the different grooves made on
the aluminum alloys and subsequently subjected to three cumulative passes.

Table I: Chemical composition and mechanical properties of 1100 Al alloy

Chemical compostion/wt-% Mechanical properties
Al Cu Zn Fe Si Others Tensile Strength Elongation
Hardness
97 0.15 0.09 0.95 0.95 0.86 110MPa 12% 28HV

Table II: Chemical composition of all reinforcements in wt (%)

304 Stainless Steel Cr Ni Mn N Si Fe
18 8 2 0.10 0.75 Balance
Ti-62222 Al Ti Mo Cr Si
6.02 88.45 3.13 2.10 0.31
Fly Ash SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO
35.22 27.40 30.80 6.81
Palm Kernel SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MgO CaO
Shell Ash(PKSA) 20.00 6.00 3.00 4.21 63.00

80
 5th International Conference on
Innovation in Science and Technology
Barcelona – Spain
7 - 9 December, 2018
ISTCONF

Friction stir processing machine used to fabricate the samples is shown in Figure 1a, it has 12 HP
spindle motor with a clockwise as well as anticlockwise spindle rotation, it also has a capacity of up
to 3500 rpm turning speed and 50kN plunge load capability. The FSP tool utilized for the procedure
was made of heat-treated H13 steel, with 20mm shoulder diameter, pin length and width of equal
4mm as seen in Figure 2b. Figure 2c represents the appearance of the already processed aluminum
sheet. The parameter used for the FSP samples was a plunge speed of 100mm/min, a constant tool
rotational speed of 1200rpm, and 30mmm/mm traverse speed. To ensure even distribution of particles
when reinforcing metal matrix composites during FSP, at least three passes must be
employed(Adetunla and Akinlabi 2018b), thus, three cumulative passes were used to fabricate the Al
alloy with 100% overlap. Optical Microscopy(OM) was used to examine the microstructural
evolution and the grain sizes of the processed samples. A mircohardness tester were used to conduct
the Vickers microhardness with standard in line with ASTM E92-82(Wu et al. 2015), dwell time and
load are 15 seconds and 300KN respectively. Instron tensile machine was used for the tensile tests
with 2.0×10−3 s−1 strain rate.

81
 5th International Conference on
Innovation in Science and Technology
Barcelona – Spain
7 - 9 December, 2018
ISTCONF

( c)
(a)

(b)
Figure 1: (a) 5 axis Friction stir welding machine developed for FSP, (b)FSP tool used, (c) Crown
appearance of the specimen after one pass showing macrostructural defects

82
 5th International Conference on
Innovation in Science and Technology
Barcelona – Spain
7 - 9 December, 2018
ISTCONF

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Microstructural Observations of the composites

After three cumulative passes, the microstructure of the composites were observed with Optical
microscope (OM). No macrostructural defects were observed within the matrix of all composites, the
particles were evenly distributed as shown in figure 2. It can be seen from the microstructure that
multi pass friction stir processing helps to break down the reinforcing particles, thus making the
particles evenly distributed within the matrix. The stirring action associated with multi pass FSP
causes plastic deformation of metals, thus making the stir zone of the metal matrix composites to be
characterized with fine grains. 304 Stainless reinforced sample exhibits the finest grain size measured
to the average of 5.1 µm and the least grain refinement can be seen with the fly ash reinforced
samples, owing to the tendency of fly ash to cluster together at the grain boundaries.

Figure 2: Optical Micrograph of various fabricated composites

3.2. Hardness and Tensile Properties

Table III presents the average hardness results of the composites. To ensure an accurate test result,
three measurements were conducted for each sample and the average hardness values were reported

83
 5th International Conference on
Innovation in Science and Technology
Barcelona – Spain
7 - 9 December, 2018
ISTCONF

in this table. The addition of reinforcements improve greatly the hardness performance of 1100 Al.
Multi pass FSP ensures adequate bonding between the reinforcements and the matrix leading to
increase in Vickers hardness(Hashemi and Hussain 2015). 304 Stainless reinforced composite
exhibits highest hardness of 95.25HV, which shows 62% increment in hardness value when
compared with the 1100 Al. This result may be attributed to the properties of stainless steel, which
exhibit higher hardness value. From the microhardness profile in figure 3, it can be seen that the stir
zone where the powders were deposited exhibit the highest hardness value.

Table III: Average Hardness Values of Composites

Composites Hardness Value (HV)
304 Stainless steel/ Al 95.23
Fly Ash/ Al 62.14
Ti-62222/Al 77.56
PKSA/Al 75.3

Figure 3: Micro hardness profile of composite samples

The tensile specimen were prepared as seen in Figure 4a and the images of the processed tensile
samples are seen in figure 4b. To ensure accuracy, three test measurement were conducted and the
average value for each sample were reported in Table 4. Deformation occurs during FSP in various
region which leads to localized strain, thus, fracture occurs at the region with peak localization of
strain(Sunil et al. 2016). Alloy type and morphology of the reinforcement used are the major
determinant of the location where tensile fracture will occur as revealed by recent studies(Charit and
Mishra 2017; Zhang et al. 2018).

84
 5th International Conference on
Innovation in Science and Technology
Barcelona – Spain
7 - 9 December, 2018
ISTCONF

(a) (b)
Figure 4: (a) Dimension of specimen for tensile test (b) Fractured samples after Test

Table 4. Tensile properties of the composite samples.

Composites Yield stress (MPa) Tensile Strength (MPa) Elongation (%)
FlyAsh/Al 59.14 268.52 31.00
PKSA/ Al 64.36 281.71 70.34
Ti-62222/ Al 89.92 305.54 70.47
304 Stainless Steel/ Al 105.86 454.18 71.56

From the result obtained in this study, it can be said that 304 Stainless steel reinforced sample
exhibits tensile properties when compared with other reinforcements used. However, the composites
have almost similar percentage of elongation except for the sample reinforced with fly ash. The load-
displacement curve shown in Figure 6 reveals that 304 Stainless steel has high tensile strength, which
could be seen as a good reinforcing material to Al alloy. However, the fluctuating waves seen with
the fly ash reinforced samples can be attributed to the morphology of the fly ash particles; fly ash has
tendency to cluster together at grain boundaries, also, reinforcement particles sometimes act as
inclusion and impurities within the matrix(M. K. Mishra et al. 2018).

Figure 5: Load- Displacement curves for composite specimenss

85
 5th International Conference on
Innovation in Science and Technology
Barcelona – Spain
7 - 9 December, 2018
ISTCONF

Conclusions

1. Multi pass-FSP can be employed to produce 1100 aluminum sheet without

macrodefects. After three cumulative passes, the grains of all reinforced samples are
refined with an average grain size of ~6.8 µm in the stir zones, the 304 stainless steel
reinforced sample has the best grain size of 5.1 µm
2. From this study, it can be concluded that reinforcement is an efficient method to
enhance the mechanical properties of 1100 Aluminum alloys. With the combination
of the new metal matrix composites fabricated in this study, higher mechanical
properties of 1100 Al are reached

References

Abegunde, O. O., E. T. Akinlabi, and D. Madyira. 2017. “Microstructural Evolution and

Mechanical Characterizations of AL-TiC Matrix Composites Produced via Friction Stir
Welding.” Materiali in tehnologije 51(2): 297–306.
http://mit.imt.si/Revija/izvodi/mit172/olayinka.pdf.
Adetunla, Adedotun, and Esther Akinlabi. 2018a. “Influence of Reinforcements in Friction Stir
Processed Magnesium Alloys: Insight in Medical Applications.” Materials Research Express.
http://iopscience.iop.org/10.1088/2053-1591/aaeea8.
———. 2018b. “Mechanical Characterization of Al/Ti-6Al-4V Surface Composite Fabricated via
FSP: A Comparison of Tool Geometry and Number of Passes.” Materials Research Express
5(11): 115015. http://stacks.iop.org/2053-
1591/5/i=11/a=115015?key=crossref.39787a6e1794fceb6ce7b9f453808ece.
Ahmadkhaniha, D., M. Heydarzadeh Sohi, A. Salehi, and R. Tahavvori. 2016. “Formations of
AZ91/Al2O3 Nano-Composite Layer by Friction Stir Processing.” Journal of Magnesium and
Alloys 4(4): 314–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jma.2016.11.002.
Asif, M, K Chandra, and P S Misra. 2011. “Development of Aluminium Based Hybrid Metal Matrix
Composites for Heavy Duty Applications.” Journal of Minerals & Materials Characterization &
Engineering, 10(14): 1337–44.
Charit, Indrajit, and Rajiv S. Mishra. 2017. “Effect of Friction Stir Processed Microstructure on
Tensile Properties of an Al-Zn-Mg-Sc Alloy upon Subsequent Aging Heat Treatment.” Journal
of Materials Science and Technology 34(1): 214–18.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2017.10.021.
Hashemi, R., and G. Hussain. 2015. “Wear Performance of Al/TiN Dispersion Strengthened Surface
Composite Produced through Friction Stir Process: A Comparison of Tool Geometries and
Number of Passes.” Wear.

86
 5th International Conference on
Innovation in Science and Technology
Barcelona – Spain
7 - 9 December, 2018
ISTCONF

Ikumapayi, O.M., E.T. Akinlabi, and J.D. Majumdar. 2018. “Review on Thermal, Thermomechanical
and Thermal Stress Distribution during Friction Stir Welding.” International Journal of
Mechanical Engineering and Technology 9(8): 534–48.
Khayyamin, D, A Mostafapour, and R Keshmiri. 2013. “Materials Science & Engineering A The
Effect of Process Parameters on Microstructural Characteristics of AZ91 / SiO 2 Composite
Fabricated by FSP.” Materials Science & Engineering A 559: 217–21.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2012.08.084.
Khodabakhshi, F., A. Simchi, A. H. Kokabi, and A. P. Gerlich. 2015. “Friction Stir Processing of an
Aluminum-Magnesium Alloy with Pre-Placing Elemental Titanium Powder: In-Situ
Formation of an Al<inf>3</Inf>Ti-Reinforced Nanocomposite and Materials
Characterization.” Materials Characterization 108: 102–14.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2015.08.016.
Luo, X.C. et al. 2018. “Tensile Properties of AZ61 Magnesium Alloy Produced by Multi-Pass
Friction Stir Processing: Effect of Sample Orientation.” Materials Science and Engineering: A
725(January): 398–405. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0921509318305148.
Mishra, M. K. et al. 2018. “On the Microstructure Evolution in Friction Stir Processed 2507 Super
Duplex Stainless Steel and Its Effect on Tensile Behaviour at Ambient and Elevated
Temperatures.” Materials Science and Engineering A 719(January): 82–92.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2018.02.032.
Mishra, R. S., Z. Y. Ma, and I. Charit. 2003. “Friction Stir Processing: A Novel Technique for
Fabrication of Surface Composite.” Materials Science and Engineering A 341(1–2): 307–10.
Panwar, Narender, and Amit Chauhan. 2018. “Fabrication Methods of Particulate Reinforced
Aluminium Metal Matrix Composite-A Review.” Materials Today: Proceedings 5(2): 5933–
39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2017.12.194.
Rana, H.G., V.J. Badheka, and A. Kumar. 2016. “Fabrication of Al7075 / B4C Surface Composite
by Novel Friction Stir Processing (FSP) and Investigation on Wear Properties.” Procedia
Technology 23: 519–28. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2212017316300597.
Sivakumar, Vignesh Bose, D Raguraman, and D Muruganandam. 2014. “Review Paper on Friction
Stir Welding of Various Aluminium Alloys.” Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering:
46–52.
Sunil, B. Ratna, G. Pradeep Kumar Reddy, Hemendra Patle, and Ravikumar Dumpala. 2016.
“Magnesium Based Surface Metal Matrix Composites by Friction Stir Processing.” Journal of
Magnesium and Alloys 4(1): 52–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jma.2016.02.001.
Wu, Hongyan et al. 2015. “Nano-Mechanical Characterization of Plasma Surface Tungstenized
Layer by Depth-Sensing Nano-Indentation Measurement.” Applied Surface Science 324: 160–
67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2014.10.085.
Zhang, Chao et al. 2018. “Effect of Microstructures to Tensile and Impact Properties of Stir Zone on
9%Cr Reduced Activation Ferritic/Martensitic Steel Friction Stir Welds.” Materials
Science and Engineering: A 27(8): 558–63.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tcm.2017.06.005%0Ahttp://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1
050173817300890%0Ahttp://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0921509318306920.

87

View publication stats